Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Fallout Equestria: Desperados

N.C.R.C.F. , Part 1

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"When I asked Slowtrot if it was normal for ponies to falsely accuse other ponies of crimes, he had a mixed response about it.

From what I understood, on the surface of the question the answer was no. Ponies were generally trusting and gave others the benefit of the doubt. But they were also quick to panic and were taken in easily by rumors. It’s like the old saying about how an individual was smart, but a crowd was dumb. Ponies seem to be like that, but to a more extreme.

Furthermore, from the other things Slowtrot had told me about old Equestria, the prolonged war had not done well for pony psychology. It was only made worse by the nonstop propaganda all around them." ~ Azure Dice

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I stood before a New Canterlot Republic officer, who looked annoyed and bored at the same time. “Name,” she asked. Her tone sounded eerily similar to the ponies at the job placement office I once went to during the war.

“Slowtrot,” I said in a depressed and defeated tone.

She tapped at a terminal. A tag printed out with my name on it. She pressed it under the collar of a simple blue shirt before shoving it to me.“Here's your uniform. Make sure not to take it off when out of your cell.”

Putting the shirt on, I found that it had the letter “NCRCF” printed along the side in a bold dark blue.

“Now move it!” Another NCR Officer told me. The unicorn was holding a baton ready to swing. They all were wearing tan uniforms. Some with simple padded armor and wide brim helmets, making a clear distinction between them and I.

Complying, I trotted to the next room, knowing there was no way to argue my innocence.

Falce Cap and Stopped Clock had done their work to frame us as criminals along with help from the other deputies under them. I don’t know what was said, or who was likely paid off, but when they had hulled us to the New Canterlot Republic’s Correctional Facility, no pony here cared to hear us out at all. Any attempt to say anything in our defense was met with threats of violence and plenty of insults.

As I entered the next room, there I saw Star Charter, Harp Melody, and Tire Fire standing next to each other, all in the same uniform that I was in.

Trotting over next to them, I stood in front of a raised podium where a red stallion sat behind. He was an older earth pony with a big bushy beard and several scars that looked like he had gotten shot in the face with a shotgun long ago. The stallion was smoking a cigar and had a bottle of wild pegasus whisky next to him as he eyed the four of us with contempt.

Of course, Star was first to speak up. “I don’t know what those assholes told you but we did nothing wr-”

A baton hit her back legs, cutting her attempt at defense off and causing her to stumble.

“You will speak when you are told to speak,” The older stallion spoke loudly with an authoritative tone. “In my prison, you will do as you're told and you will do it with a smile.”

“Fuck you!” Tire Fire said with a sneer. Following that statement, he also got a baton strike to the back legs.

I looked over at Harp. She was clearly trying to think of anything she could do or say to get everypony out of this situation, but with how frustrated she looked, it didn’t look good.

Knowing what was coming, I still had to ask, “Where is our lawyer?”

Clenching my teeth, I felt the baton hit my back legs. The pain caused me to buckle.

The old stallion, who I guessed was the Warden of this place, looked down at me like I was an idiot. “A lawyer?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

Another tan uniform mare trotted up to the Warden. She had thick glasses on and a long dirty blond mane tied up in braids. “The ponies whose job it is to know what is the law, and represent those in a court of law.”

The Warden began to laugh. “A fucking lawyer! Why the fuck would we give raiders a lawyer? Or even a trial? You’re lucky Ashy Oaks didn’t shoot you fuckers on the spot. Celestia bless that mare.”

“Were not raiders!” Harp said in surprise. She, too, got a baton strike to her back legs, causing her to let out a cry of pain.

Looking over at the glasses mare, the Warden then asked her, “Lieutenant Ginger Rhizomes, read them their crimes.”

She nodded as she looked at a nearby clipboard. “Yes, Warden Dynamite, Sir. Their crimes are as listed; aiding raiders by informing the raiders with information on local law enforcement to avoid detection, warning raiders of an upcoming sting, providing a distraction for the raiders to prevent the law enforcement from pursuing them. Worst of all, the supplying of guns and ammunition to raiders.”

“Brahmin shit!” Tire Fire spoke up, “Those guns were for my clan, not some-” He again got knocked down by a baton.

Wardin Dynamite spat in a bucket, making a loud ping sound. Why he was using chew and smoking a cigar at the same time was odd to me, but that was the least of my concerns at this moment. Maybe it was how absurd it was, or how absurd everything had become, but I just didn’t feel anything right now. I guess I was just waiting to know my fate, knowing that I could have just left like Quicktrot had told me to and all this would have never happened.

No. This was going to happen. In some form or other, it was going to happen.

“Ah, clan of raiders. Just because you four didn’t take part in raiding, that ain’t making you not raider. Naw. It makes ya all worse. At least those monsters have the decency to show their true colors, unlike you lot,” Warden Dynamite chastised.

He puffed a cloud of cigar smoke at us. “You all will work off your crimes, and you will like it. Ya hear? The stallions will break rocks in the quarry and the mares will hall those rocks away. It will be long, grueling work. I expect it to be done in a timely manner with no complaints.”

A wide grin formed on his face. “But if you wish to find out what happens if you disobey even one order, I will be more than glad to show you. Am I clear?”

We all looked at each other then him in concern.

Warden Dynamite looked very displeased before shouting, “AM I CLEAR?”

Harp squealed, “Yes sir!” before eying us to do the same.

Following her lead, the three of us grumbled, “Yes sir.”

“LOUDER!” he shouted again.

“YES SIR!” we repeated, knowing we had no choice.

Warden Dynamite relaxed. His eyes scanned us. “Miss Ginger, why do they have pipbucks?”

The mare again looked at her clipboard, flipping through whatever documents were on them. “It’s listed that they are stolen property. We have already issued out a request for a pipbuck technician to be sent over for the removal of the pipbucks from the convicts.”

Harp visibly flinched and hid her pipbuck behind her hoof.

I raised mine up, showing the guard behind me that it had my cutie-mark on it. He didn’t seem to care.

With a huff, Warden Dynamite relaxed again. “Well, if they're seen doing anything suspicious, be ready to just cut their legs off. Don’t need them being another trouble maker. The one we got is already too many.”

I quickly lowered my pipbuck so as to bring less attention to it.

The NCR mare, Ginger, nodded before turning to the other guards in the room. “Take them to the courtyard. We will collect them once the chain gangs are back.”

With that, the other guards herded us out of the room. I could hear the warden laughing as we left, as though he enjoyed all this. It was another reminder that I was not in the Equestria I remembered… though thinking about it, what did I even know about my Equestria in the first place?

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Left in the hot sun, the four of us trotted out to the middle of the courtyard to get away from the NCR guards. Four watchtowers loomed over us, each with a sniper inside. The glint of their scope was a reminder that they were keeping a close eye on us.

“Goddesses fucking damnit!” Star Charter grumbled. “When I get out of here, I will rip Stopped Clocks throat out with my bare teeth! I just know he was the one to write down that crime list. Probably added what he thought were crimes that go back years.”

She began kicking the ground with force, which was a lot better than all the thrashing she had been doing before. She had knocked around several Deputies while on our way here. Compared to the rest of us, they bound her up as though she was a raging monster.

I couldn't blame her. Harp and I only knew Hardballer for a short time, but she knew him for years. The old griffin was her daughter's grandfather and, from what I came to know, was an upstanding griffin with a long and troubled past. I could not imagine how she felt right now.

But this was not the first time I watched some creature I had grown to respect die, and in the same senseless way. I looked down at my Pipbuck 3200, remembering it’s inventor, June, a stern no-nonsense mare who smoked heavily. She was also not fond of the war and had hated how the pipbucks had a targeting spell for attacking. I watched as Thorn killed her, unable to do anything to stop it from happening.

Again it happened.

Hardballer may have had a connection to that Slaver Lord everypony hated, but I was not there. I did not see it. What I saw was an old griffin surrounded by friends and family doing his best to make the future better for them. Ya, he deals in guns, but after dealing with giant bugs and the crazed ponies called raiders, it be stupid to not own a gun. Then Ashy shot him all because she didn’t like the Desperados!

All I could do was watch.

“Are you okay, Slowtrot?” Harp asked me as she put a hoof on my shoulder.

Water had been forming in my eyes, of which I quickly wiped it off. “Ya. About just as dandy as the rest of you.”

Harp gave me a sad smile. The kind that had a slight upturn for her mouth, but everything else drooped. “Well… I guess all we can do is wait. I’m sure someone will come get us out. No way anypony would believe we did all that. I mean, even in your time, these kinds of things didn’t happen.”

Turning to her, I gave my best, “Pinky Pie is watching us” smile. “Oh nothing ever bad happened to an innocent pony. It’s why we smile all the time. Otherwise the Pinks would come for us.” I dropped the smile. “Sorry… It’s good to hope. It really is, but there’s just too much going against us.”

“Quicktrot?” she asked. In response, I nodded.

An annoyed laugh came from Tire Fire who had been observing our surroundings from where we all sat. “Trust me, my clan ain't going to take this shit lightly. When they figure out what happened, that bitch will be knee-deep in the shit.”

“Fuck the gangers!” Star growled. “Once the Gunrunner catches wind of this, Ashy is going to have Talons up her fucking ass.”

“Maybe,” Harp said, giving me a glance. “But Slowtrot is right. We have a lot more going against us right now… Well, at least I know I do.”

She glanced around. Her head clearly still calculating as she eyed the towers that loomed over us. “If we wait for somepony to come get us out, it’s likely not going to be somepony with our best interests in mind.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t mean what I think you're getting at?”

She nodded. “Ya. We need to break out of here before any pony makes a move on us.”

Star Charter gave Harp a light jab. “Crazy thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but I also don’t like the idea of becoming some outlaw. Mom and Bridget... I mean how… how would I even talk to them if I got a bounty on my head?”

It was clear that Star was holding back her emotions. She was trying not to cry.

A long sigh came from Harp. “I already know that Victoria and Quicktrot want possession of me, and they're both ponies who don’t care how they get their hooves on me. So, if you want to sit and wait for fate to unfold for you, I’m not going to stop you, but I need to get out of here before one of them comes for me.”

Star pulled Harp into a tight hug. “I get it. I know nothing good will come if I wait for somepony to fix this mess for me. But what options do we have? Where would we even go?”

Tire Fire snorted. “You mean where will you go? Personally, I’m going to return to my clan. Like fuck anypony will come for a bounty on my head and risk the clan coming for their’s.”

“Oh, that's an option,” I said. They all looked over at me. “I mean, well if, and this is a big if, but if we do break out of here then maybe the Desperados can shelter us. They are heading west, so why not go with them?”

“Why would we take a bunch of softies like you three?” Tire snarked back.

Star let Harp go and gave Tire a much harder jab. “I literally bit a chunk out of one of you gaggers and sent the two running in fear. Harp here has a few talents I’m sure you gearheads would go to war over. And then Slowtrot… well, I’m not sure.”

“He fucked my sister.” Tire said flat out.

I tensed up in fear, but neither Harp nor Star seemed to be surprised by that statement.

Star just shrugged. “Still don’t know what Dead Axle sees in Slowtrot. No offense.”

“None taken,” I said before double-taking the statement. “You knew?”

“Well, you two were not the most subtle ponies in town,” Star replied.

“And you did spend the night together,” Harp added.

A frustrated huff came from Tire Fire. “Alright, I get it. If we get out of here then I’ll take you to my Clans campsite. Now I do hope you have a plan because those guards up in them towers don’t look like they're armed with BB guns.”

Harp scanned the towers with her eyes. An annoyed frown formed on her face. “Give me some time to think this out before making a move. The last thing we need is for them to know we're plotting to escape. On that note, let's not mention it again and not to anypony.”

Tire nodded. “I can dig. Speaking of anypony, it looks like some of the locals are coming.”

We all clammed up as we watched a rough-looking thin stallion trot over. His uniform was one size too big on him. Flanking him were two larger stallions covered in scars and tattoos.

“Oi new blood. Welcome to our wonderful resort where ya can do jack shit while under the watchful eyes of the glorious NCR. Names Cattle Prod. Consider yourself lucky I’m here to greet ya.” He had that kind of accent reminiscent of ponies from the east coast cities, where they sound like they're always trying to intimidate other ponies or start a fight. If I had to put my hoof on it, it had to be a New Jenny accent, if a bit off.

Harp stepped forward. “Names Harp. I’m guessing the other prisoners are out at the quarry. If that’s so, then what are you doing here? Are you some pony with power here with how you got two guards with you?”

Prod looked at the two larger ponies flanking him. “Oy! The fuck you two doing? Go get back to work before the Warden gets another stick up his ass.” The two stallions quickly scattered over to one of the buildings.

Alone with us, Prod quickly looked around as though keeping an eye out for anypony eavesdropping. “Once did, before that bitch showed up. Long story short, my pa owns the biggest independent brahman ranch on the east coast. I’m here doing hard time for doing dumb shit. The ponies listen to me here because I can get them good work after serving out time in this shit hole. Also, before you ask, I’m in here for tax fraud. Nothing like the shit some of the other psychos are in here for.”

“Is that why you're not breaking rocks?” I asked.

Cattle Prod puffed up his chest with pride. “Well, other than not being a savage, I have been quite well mannered, so the guards trust me and my colts to do the laundry and other clean up jobs here in the NCRCF.”

“Charming,” Harp said, not sounding impressed. Shen scratched her chin before as “You said a bitch showed up. Would that be a Spritz Cookie?”

The Stallion visibly quivered. “So she’s already getting known outside of the NCRCF? Go figure. Well, we still got some time before she returns so I’ll give ya the rundown.”

He took a deep breath before explaining. “Well, what I know about her is that she was some crazy Steal Ranger paladin or something, like the ones who would kill other ponies for a toaster kind of crazy. So big, mean, and not interested in what other ponies have to say. Well the NCR finally got their hooves on her some time back and, for some Celestia forsaken reason, they didn’t put her out of our misery like some crazed brahmin and sent her here. Something about having her work to undo the damage she had done to the NCR or some stupid shit like that. Well, Spritz Cookie didn’t care and just started ranting all day. Every day.”

“And the Warden didn’t shut her up?” Star said as she rubbed her back legs.

Cattle Prod huffed. “He tried, but Spritz is that special kind of crazy. The kind that likes the pain, both giving and receiving it. Well, don’t ask me how, but she somehow got others believing in her mad ranting, and now she's got most of the prison on her side. I mean, I like it that the other inmates are a lot less violent now, but on the other hoof, we all know she is planning on something real bad.”

“What… mad rantings?” I asked.

He looked around before motioning for us to follow him. “Oi walk and talk. The guards don’t like it when we stand around too much.”

We slowly followed him to one of the larger buildings inside the prison where several other prisoners were pulling out sacks or dragging some in.

“Now don’t tell nopony I said anything, or I’ll make your life worse than it already is.” As Cattle Prod told us that, he looked back to see if we all acknowledged. Once we all gave him a nod, he continued. “Spritz Cookie, you see, believes, for some Celestia forsaken reason, that the NCR is just another Redeye army. But with their access to technology, she thinks they will abuse it to destroy Equestria all over again. Worst of it all, she is not entirely wrong.”

“You’re talking about the Redeye part. I heard that the NCR took in a lot of the Redeye mercenaries,” I commented.

He nodded back at me. “More than that. You see Redeye, that silver tongue bastard, had managed to form alliances from east coast to the west coast in order to rebuild Fillydelphia. Supply lines, farms, ranches, all the things needed to keep a city alive. Of course, most of it was done through his slaver’s connections. Well, when he fell and the NCR formed, Gawdyna Grimfeathers quickly snatched up all those connections. It took over a year to do, but everything that was once Redeye’s became the property of the NCR, though with a new paint job and laws.”

Prod whistled at a pony by the door to the larger building. They opened it up as we entered. “Now don’t go thinking that nothing did change. I mean, not much really did. My own family still had to pay a tax and shit, but now it was just soldier ponies coming to collect instead of slavers. Still, the soldier ponies were a lot more polite. They kept their hooves to themselves and such.”

Harp chimed in. “So this Spritz Cookie uses this fact to what? Get ponies to side with her against the NCR? Is she some sort of revolutionary?”

“If only.” Prod said as we entered a mess hall.

High above us was a walkway, of which a few NCR guards watched over us with their rifles at their side. The ground floor itself was considerably clean and organized with the kitchen further back. Prisoners were in the kitchen preparing food as a few more guards stood by at a safe distance.

Taking a seat at one of the tables, we joined Prod as he further explained. “I’ve seen ponies fight against a shit system. One of my older brothers tried to be a revolutionary when Redeye was around. Got a nice possy too before the slavers killed them all. There's a certain credence to them with a way they pick their targets and tactics. Those who went after Redeye always tried to save the slaves and kill the slavers. Hard targets even before the Alacorns joined Redeye.”

“And Spritz Cookie doesn't,” Harp asked.

“Well the NCR doesn't have slavers to go after, so no.” Prod answered. “All the NCR actually has are the soldier ponies which are used to guard caravans. You know, the things mainly populated with hard-working folk who risk their lives delivering shit other ponies need to live. They were around before, during, and after Redeye, and will be around when the NCR eventually falls. The only things that come after those caravans are monsters, riders, or the occasion bandit trying to charge a bridge toll.”

Again Prod looked around, making sure no pony was trying to eavesdrop on us. “Spritz Cookie, on the other hoof, believes that attacking those caravans is for some greater good. Strangle the NCR while it’s still in its infancy as she so eloquently says. She weaves the history of Redeye with the NCR, picking the bloody parts to justify the murdering of caravan ponies, all while ignoring that she is a Steal Ranger who killed ponies for just having a toaster. There is no goal other than chaos with Spritz, but she is good at convincing others that she is right.”

Harp nodded. “One more question: Cattle Prod. Why tell us anything? What’s your aim?”

He smiled. “Oi a smart one, ain’t ya? Now that I gave you all a heads up, you four owe me a favor.”

Feeling a bit confused, I spoke up. “Wait, but we didn’t ask for you to-”

Tire Fire jabbed me with his hoof. “Doesn't matter, Slowtrot. Nothings free. Even if a pony says they're giving it away, they will still come back for their payment.”

Turning to Cattle Prod, Tire Fire addressed the convict. “Now I ain’t no fag, so if you want me to suck your dick for that info, I’m going to beat your shit out of you right here.”

Prod laughed. “Good to know. Last stallion who chose to go the bitch route became every ponies bitch. But no. I ain’t no fag either, though I wouldn’t mind getting some alone time from the two ladies here.”

Both Star and Harp gave him a flat “No!”

“Fair enough.” Prod said without any shame in his voice. “Not like the guard would let us fuck without them getting in on the action too. Ruins the mood.

Anyways, what I’m after is not some cheap one night stand, but access to what you three go on your fetlocks.”

Harp, Star, and I looked at our pipbucks.

“How are they any use to you?” Star asked.

Prod smiled. “A use to me? No. Not at all. But to Spritz Cookie? Well, I did say she was a Steal Ranger, didn’t I?”

Star sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fuck, so you want the tin can to come after us.”

“Yes, but more accurately, to go after you while you stay away from me.” Prod further explained, pointing at us, then himself, to emphasize his words.

The sound of a whistle could be heard outside. A few of the guards on the catwalk left.

“What's that?” I asked.

“The chain giants are returning,” Prod told us.

He pointed to the far corner of the mess hall. “I’ll be over there.” He pointed to the opposite side of the mess hall. “You all will be over there with your pipbucks visible. Do that simple task without telling Spritz that we had this talk, and I’ll make sure my ponies keep an eye out for you. If you keep Spritz off my ass, I’ll even return a favor for you.”

We watched as Cattle Prod got up and left to his side of the mess hall, leaving us to talk amongst ourselves.

Star was first to state her disagreement. “Fuck ‘em. He looks too much like a vulture to trust.”

Tire Fire was next. “We could just beat the shit out of this Spritz Cookie? Make us the new big dogs.”

“We could just not get involved?” I suggested.

“No, those are all bad ideas,” Harp chimed in quietly. “What we need is allies. Ponies to watch our back if we are to get out of here.”

“So you want to work with that softy?” Tire Fire scoffed.

Harp closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before answering. “No, not at all. Cattle Prod is honest, but I have no doubt he will sell us out as soon as it will serve his best interest. Also, he clearly doesn't want to get on NCR's bad side, so being party to a prison break would be far from his best interests.”

“Then what?” Star asked her.

With full confidence, Harp said, “We’ll talk with this Spritz Cookie. That’s what.”

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-Reputation-

-NCRCF-

Being labeled as Raider supporters is not going to win any friends, much less ponies who want to hear what you say. The soldiers who guard the NCRCF see Slowtrot, Star, and Harp as nothing more than criminals that cannot be trusted.

-Cleaners Convicts-

Cattle Prod has his eyes on the new ponies in lockup and hopes they will be useful to keep a problem prisoner distracted. They will not help or hinder until the three help them.